North Korea threatens war if U.S. shoots down test missiles

The sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un warned the United States and its allies that any interception of her country’s missile tests would be considered an act of war. 

In a statement published by the Korean Central News Agency on March 7th, Kim Yo-jong derided the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command for reportedly saying that any intercontinental ballistic missile fired into the Pacific Ocean would be shot down. 

Photo by Twitter @INDOPACOM

“I don’t know if he really made such improper words,” Kim said according to a translation provided by North Korea’s state-owned news agency, “but I will clearly warn in advance irrespective of any other reason whether it is true or not.”

“The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominion of the U.S. or Japan,” Kim added, before going on to complain about the amount of Pacific drills the American military routinely conducts “as if the ocean were its yard.”

Kim went on to warn the United States and its allies that any attempt to shoot down a North Korean missile test would be considered a declaration of war. 

"It will be considered as a clear declaration of war," Kim said, "in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons."

“We also remind them that our military code of conduct in such a situation has been set,” Kim continued with a clear threat of escalation to full-scale war. 

Kim’s statement went on to note that the “extremely frantic” drills of American and South Korean military units have not been overlooked in her country and suggested something would be done soon by North Korean authorities to “cope with them.”

“As already clarified,” Kim said, “we keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick, and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment.”

Kim Yo-jong is one of the most powerful figures in her brother's government and currently holds the position of Deputy Director of the Publicity and Information Department, which means she controls North Korea’s propaganda machine. 

Kim’s statement came less than one day after U.S. and South Korean forces flew a B-52 Bomber training mission over the Korean Peninsula according to the Associated Press. 

"The B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months,” wrote Hyung-Jin Kim. 

Hyung-Jin added that both the American and South Korean “militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.”

Shortly after Kim made her statement, North Korea’s General Staff of the Korean People’s Army put its front-line artillery units on high alert and claimed they had detected a live-fire drill by South Korean forces near the town of Paju according to the Associated Press journalist. 

"The General Staff said about 30 rounds were fired during the South Korean exercise," wrote Hyung-Jin, "and urged its rival to immediately stop such activities near the border."

"South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff described the North Korean claim as absurd," Hyung-Jin added, "and denied that the South’s military had fired any artillery."